Bandra-Dehradun Express fire: DNA tests to identify bodies of victims

Mumbai: DNA tests will be conducted on four unidentified bodies of the nine passengers who died in Wednesday's Dehradun Express fire in Thane, near the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, an official said on Thursday.

"Their bodies have been burnt beyond recognition and hence it has been decided to conduct DNA tests," a Western Railway spokesperson said.

According to reports, the victims were travelling in S-2 and S-3 coaches, which along with S-4 caught fire at around 2.35 am early on Wednesday near Gholvad, around 145 km north of Mumbai.

The bodies of the victims are in custody of the Government Railway Police, which will arrange for DNA testing and later complete the formalities of handing these over to the bereaved families.

Nine passengers, including a woman, were killed when a fire engulfed the three sleeper coaches of the speeding Mumbai Bandra Terminus-Dehradun Express. The fire, which ravaged three sleeper coaches of the train, caught the sleeping passengers unawares. It was first noticed by Jawahar Singh, a level-crossing gateman who alerted the Gholvad station master.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety will conduct an inquiry into the untoward incident. Five of the nine, who succumbed to asphyxiation, were identified as 65-year-old Deepika Shah, 48-year-old Dev Shankar Upadhyay, 68-year-old Surendra Shah, 50-year-old Nasirkhan Ahmedkhan Pathan and 38-year-old Feroz Khan.